Judge could disqualify Fulton County DA Fani Willis from Georgia case
Fox News' Madeleine Rivera reports the latest on the misconduct allegations. Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy also joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss Fani Willis' upcoming evidentiary hearing.
Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile conceded that Fulton County DA Fani Willis showed "bad judgment" in having a relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade and suggested the public attention she was getting "comes with the territory."
"I can’t sit in judgment of her as a human being, but I can say, in terms of her role as a public prosecutor, yeah, she showed bad judgment," Brazile told The New York Times in a piece published on Wednesday. She said she was always careful to separate her career and personal life with a "bright red line."
Brazile also argued that Willis faced "vitriol" and "racial animus" as a Black woman, but admitted the attention Willis was getting was expected for someone prosecuting a high-profile case against former President Trump.
"She is undergoing public scrutiny — she’s a public official," Brazile told the media outlet. "Comes with the territory."
Donna Brazile told the New York Times that Fani Willis showed "bad judgment." (Left: (Photo by Ed Rode/Getty Images for Politicon), Right: (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage))
The New York Times interviewed several Black women about the accusations against Willis and reported they were "painfully conflicted about Ms. Willis' situation and her treatment in the public eye."
The report, headlined, "Why the Case Against Fani Willis Feels Familiar to Black Women," said most of those interviewed did not believe Willis should be removed from the case.
"Others, thinking about their own experiences in the workplace, suggested another concern: They feel that Black women are held to a different standard and that Ms. Willis should have known that her identity, along with the enormous political stakes of the case, would create a white-hot spotlight on her personal conduct," the report said.
Tangala L. Hollis-Palmer, a Black attorney from Mississippi, told the outlet she was hesitant to believe the allegations at first. But after Willis admitted to having the relationship, Hollis-Palmer said she was somewhat dismayed over Willis and said she should have used a "little more discretion and a little better judgment."
FILE - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. Georgia's Senate passed a bill Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, that would revive a new commission that some Democrats say is aimed at disrupting Willis' prosecution of former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
"We just have to be so careful when we are in these positions to not give people the ammunition to come after us," Hollis-Palmer added.
A Georgia state judge confirmed Monday that he will hold an evidentiary hearing on Thursday over allegations that embattled Willis engaged in an "improper" affair.
Willis was accused of having an "improper" affair with Wade, whom she hired to help prosecute Trump in a sweeping racketeering case related to the 2020 election. Those allegations were first made by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who is arguing that Willis’ alleged conduct should disqualify her and her team from the case.
In legal filings last month, Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as a special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime.
According to the court documents, Wade, who has no RICO and felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the New York Young Republican Club Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on December 09, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Willis, who has admitted the relationship but denied any conflict of interest, asked the court to cancel the evidentiary hearing slated for later this week.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said in a hearing Monday considering those motions, "in studying the law that's been filed up to this point, I think it's clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one. And the filing submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict in the evidence that can't be resolved as a matter of law."
Willis is a Democrat and is up for re-election to her position next year.
Fox News' Brianna Herlihy and Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report.
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